Power management integrated circuits (ICs) typically incorporate one or more voltage regulators, notably low dropout regulators (LDOs), to provide one or more stable and accurately regulated supply rails. Due to the reduction of transistor dimensions, the demand for integrating an increased amount of analog functions into a digital circuit, e.g. by using minimum length devices, becomes more attractive.
The functionality of an LDO may be implemented using a digital controller with synchronous or asynchronous logic followed by a driver stage. The control portion of the LDO may be implemented in a fully digital manner and may efficiently be ported to different technologies without taking into account analog considerations such as bias generation, coupling or special layout techniques.